BBC Review

From Radiohead to the Red Hot Chili Peppers; not a day goes by without some young musical whippersnapper admitting that prog rock's not such a bad thing. But before we all rush out and start buying err...Rush, let us examine what semioticians would refer to as a 'key text': The music of Yes. The Word Is Live gives us an alternative chronological overview. That's three discs of mainly unreleased live versions of their classic work. Gulp...

Like musical Marmite, Yes divides the masses...but if you have a musical bone in your body you'll be hard-pushed to not find something of worth here. Beginners will be drawn in by Jon Anderson's frankly angelic voice (just don't ask what he's on about), whereas hardcore fans will melt over Steve Howe's edgy guitar dynamics, Chris Squire's in-yer-face bass and Bill Bruford's whipchord snare. All in all it's a cherry-picked primer on one of rock's most distinctive b(r)ands. Go on...be brave.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you choose to use this review on your site please link back to this page.